Let the Holidays Begin

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Fall Open Studio blog event. If was fun to meet and greet everyone and share our studio spaces. This event also taught me a little more about how to use blogger.com so you got love that.

I would just like to declare in the famous words of my pastor's wife after our Candlelight Coffee event.."Let the holidays begin!"

Remember that you can shop with me until midnight tomorrow Oct. 26th in my etsy store or my website.

PS. Look for more information and photos of our Candlelight Coffee after Nov. 14th.

Second Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Sharon P. on winning the necklace. Sharon please make sure I have your email so that I can get your address and let me know what length you would like your necklace.

Fall Recipe

When I think of fall, I think about Thanksgiving and Christmas a time to praise the Lord. I also think about a favorite dish that we eat during the fall and winter. I am not sure about other parts of the country but in the south we love to make and eat brunswick stew. It is said that this stew originated in Virginia, the state I was born in, around 1828. Churchs and fire depts. around here will have big fundraisers where they make and sell this stew. They are usually made in a huge cast iron pot over an open fire. However, when I make mine I use a 16qt stock pot and a modern stove. The stew is made with a variety of meats with chicken and beef being the most common. I recently sampled a stew with chicken, beef and pork. Typically the stew has potatoes, tomatoes, lima beans, peas and corn. I have my husband's grandmother's recipe that my mother-in-law taught me to make. If anyone is interested in the recipe, I will be glad to email it as I feel it is rather long to put into a blog.

I hope everyone is still enjoying the Open House. Remember you can still shop after the open house is over.
You can shop with me through Monday Oct. 26th at the sale prices on either my etsy site or my website.

Works in Progress

I am currently working on my limited edition porcelain snowflakes for wholesale customers. I have a few in the kiln awaiting a bisque firing, but still don't have the kiln working. I have been waiting since the beginning of Sept. to have it fixed. I will be on the horn tomorrow to my electrician friend to schedule some time hopefully this week. In the mean time, I am busy rolling out the clay and forming them.

Second Giveaway

This is the second giveaway today. It is one of my finished bola cord necklaces. The pendant is porcelain and one of my new colors for this fall. I would describe the color as persimmon. What would you call this color. It is lighter than the picture. I tried to get it as close as I could. All metal components are sterling silver and the bola cord is brown. The lucky winner can choose between 16", 18" or 20" bola cord in brown. It retails for $36.00.  Get your comments in quickly. I will announce the winner at 4:00pm.  Remember that you can shop with me until Midnight Oct. 26th on my etsy site or my website at a 25% discount.

My Studio Space

Here is the picture of my studio. It is the fourth bedroom in our house. It used to be the kids playroom when they were little. After they stopped using the room for a year, I took over the space in July of '07. It all started with the "L" shaped desk that I found at a local office supply warehouse sale. It is really a receptionist desk without the bar height countertop. I also got the table with the same matching top and the two side chairs were in my husband's office until he needed to move his office into the house. (He got my old very small studio space as his office, the chairs didn't fit anymore). I have a walk in closet lined with shelving as well as the open book cases for storage.

I have divided the space up into three work zones. The computer side of the desk is used for office work, entering inventory into Quickbooks, blogging, website, etc. The other side of the desk is used for making finished jewelry. The third zone is the six foot table that is for all clay work. Rolling the clay, forming items, sanding, and glazing.  I store the glazes on the wall in the closet behind the table.

First Giveaway Winner

The winner of my first giveaway is Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry. Congratulations Mellisa.

Fist Giveaway

These colored porcelain pillow beads are the first giveaway of the day. They were featured in "Beads 2009" editors' pick. I start with white porcelain and  color the clay with mason stains before individually hand forming each side of the bead. They are approx. 3/4" square and are hollow to make them lighter in weight. The lucky winner will receive all seven beads pictured.
Get you comments in quickly. I will announce the winner at 2pm.

OPEN HOUSE STUDIO BLOG EVENT INTRODUCTION

Hello and welcome to TGL Designs's first Open House.

My name is Tracy Isley, a self-taught artist, who has been involved in many mediums over the years. In the fall of 2004, I designed my first piece of jewelry for the employees of a local museum for a fundraiser and was later asked to put items in their gift shop. When asked to teach a summer camp on jewelry making to middle school aged children, I decided to teach the class how to make their own ceramic beads and pendants to use in their jewelry.

After learning the basics of ceramic bead making, through the beads-of-clay yahoo group and trial and error I feel in love with this medium and continue to work with it.

Today my designs use my own handmade exclusive beads, my own handmade stained glass pendants, semi-precious stones, fibers, sterling silver and 14kt. gold filled beads. I am continuing to expand my line of jewelry, ceramic beads and pendants, as well as refine my skills as a designer.

I am excited to participate in this Fall Open House Studio Blog Event with so many wonderful artists. Make sure you surf back and forth among the studio tours and chat Live with each and everyone of us. You can find a list of participating artists at Beads of Clay Blog. Each of us will have special giveaways during the event. To be eligible you must comment on the giveaway's post.

Shop with me all day today and tomorrow on my etsy site and my website TGL Designs.com where everything is 25% off. On my website you must use the promotion code Fall to receive your discount.

Here is the giveaways I have planned for the Open House tomorrow. All pieces are porcelain. The individual beads were featured in "Beads 2009" editors picks published by Interweave Press. The necklace is one of the new fall colors that came from the mis-firing of the kiln. Make sure you comment on the giveaways tomorrow during the Open House to be eligible for them. I look forward to meeting you all tomorrow starting at 1pm.

Fall Studio Open House

Join a number of Earth Clay Artists as we open up our creative studio spaces through our blogs on Sunday, October 25, 2009 from 1-4pm EST. Updates on the event schedule and list of participating artists will be listed on Beads-of-Clay.Blogspot.com


TGL Designs will have great giveaways. I will post pictures of these giveaways at the end of next week before the open house. To be eligible for the giveaways you must be a commenter on the post describing the giveaway during the open house.


I am currently working the International Furniture Market in High Point NC until next Thursday but have been keeping things moving in production during this time. I am currently working on porcelain snowflake ornaments for my wholesale accounts. Maybe one can slip into the giveaways for the Open House. We shall see.


I look forward to meeting everyone at the Open House.


Plan To Hang Out on Sunday, October 25, 2009 from 1-4pm EST